Minecraft Server Restart Script

This Bash script automates the process of sending scheduled notifications to players and restarting a Minecraft server. It uses screen to interact with the server console and ensures players are informed about the restart in advance.

Features

• Sends countdown messages to players at predefined intervals (1 hour, 30 minutes, 15 minutes, 5 minutes, and 1 minute before the restart).
• Gracefully stops the server after notifying players.
• Customizable message system for easy adjustments.
• Supports scheduling with crontab for automated restarts.

Prerequisites

• A Minecraft server running in a screen session.
• The screen command installed on your system.

Setup

1. Ensure your Minecraft server is running in a screen session.
   Example:

   screen -S mc java -Xmx1024M -Xms1024M -jar minecraft_server.jar nogui

2. Download or copy this script to your server environment.
3. Make the script executable:

   chmod +x restart.sh

4. Edit the SCREEN_NAME variable in the script to match the name of your server's screen session (default is mc).

Usage

Run the script manually or schedule it using crontab for automatic execution.

Manual Execution

To run the script manually:

./restart.sh

Scheduling with crontab

1. Open your crontab file for editing:

   crontab -e

2. Add the following line to schedule the script. For example, to restart the server daily at 3:00 AM:

   0 3 * * * /path/to/restart.sh

   Replace /path/to/restart.sh with the full path to your script.

3. Save and exit the editor. Your server will now automatically restart at the specified time.

Customization

• Modify the send_message function to change the notification messages.
• Adjust the sleep intervals if needed to fit your server's requirements.

Example Output

Players will see messages like:

[Server] The server will restart in 1 hour.
[Server] The server will restart in 30 minutes.
[Server] The server will restart in 15 minutes.
[Server] The server will restart in 5 minutes.
[Server] The server will restart in 1 minute.
[Server] The server is now restarting. Please be patient.

License

This script is provided under the MIT License. Feel free to use, modify, and distribute it.